Did a munchkin hang himself in the last scenes of The Wizard of Oz? Is there a ghost boy in parts of Three Men and a Baby? Many myths like these surround the movie world but are they actually true or just cynical attempts by movie producers to bump up sales? iVillage takes a look at urban legends surrounding Hollywood films and asks: urban truth or scarily false?
- Three Men and a Baby
...and a 'ghost boy'? - Snuff
Was the infamous death scene real? - Poltergeist
Did a real poltergeist kill the cast? - The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Were the crew possessed by real demons? - The Wizard of Oz
Did a munchkin hang himself during the Yellow Brick Road scene?
Myth:
The spooky rumours surrounding the film 'Three Men and a Baby', suggest that a young boy was murdered with a shotgun in the flat used in the film. When the film was released on video, film buffs (with nothing better to do than play with the rewind/pause button obviously) spotted the figure of a young boy - supposedly a ghost - lurking behind the curtains in the scene where Ted Danson's on-screen mum is playing with the baby. To add to the mystery, another scene depicts the shadow of a shotgun, barrel down, leaning against the window.
The truth:
In fact, the supposed 'ghost boy' was no more than a cardboard cut-out of Ted Danson, wearing top hat and tails - admittedly, scary enough! The cut-out was meant to be used in another scene in the film, but some poor runner had more than likely forgotten to move it out of shot. The rumour was therefore a convenient get-out clause for sloppy filmmaking. The shotgun turned out to be no more than what it looked like; a shadow.
Myth:
Snuff films are illegal movies which involve real death scenes instead of pretend ones. Many films claim to be snuff movies but the 1976 movie 'Snuff', was the most famous. A film about motorcycles and baddies, it purportedly contained actual footage of an 'actress' being murdered on set. It was said that the material was smuggled in from South America.
The Truth:
In fact, there is a seven figure reward available for anyone who can prove that a snuff film really exists commercially but, tellingly; no one as yet has claimed the prize, including the makers of 'Snuff'. The movie was actually a flop at release and so five years later, when the film's head honcho re-released it, he added the frill to help sales. It worked.
Myth:
Our next urban movie myth is REAL (well, sort of) and claims that the cast of the 'Poltergeist' trilogy were involved in mysterious deaths caused by a 'real' poltergeist cursing the actors.
The Truth:
It is true to say that four of the cast did die - most notably the blonde child actress Heather O'Rourke - in and around the movie's filming. However, only two deaths were unusual, the other two being disease-related. Dominique Dunne (Dana Freeling in the film) was choked into a coma by an abusive boyfriend and died a few days later in October 1982. Heather O'Rourke, or Carol Ann as she is better known, died of septic shock in 1988 just before the completion of the trilogy, fuelling conspiracy theories. She contracted the septicaemia after a bout of flu and doctors were unable to save her life in spite of an operation. This, and the tragic death of Dunne, fanned the rumours around the cursed story.
Myth:
On the set of the most recent exorcist flick -The Exorcism of Emily Rose - strange goings-on were recorded by cast members. The movie is a story about an attorney who has to defend a priest accused of murdering a young woman he was exorcising. Jennifer Carpenter, who plays the possessed woman in the new film, witnessed her stereo turn itself on and Laura Linney, playing the lawyer's role, saw her hotel room TV switch on without human hands on three separate occasions.
The Truth:
During filming, the cast's members were made to watch real exorcism tapes! It's possible this methodology freaked Laura and Jennifer out or, more likely, this is yet another example of a Hollywood producer getting fat on conspiracy.
Myth:
In 'The Wizard of Oz', when Dorothy meets the Tin Woodsman, and the happy troupe skip away into the sunset towards the Emerald City, a lone hanged munchkin can be spotted swinging from a tree. Legend has it that, jilted by his little lover, the yellow brick road-layer tied a noose around his neck and jumped to his death during the last seconds of filming the scene. Apparently the death was hushed up and no one noticed the mini corpse had actually made it into the film until it had already been released. To see the corpse, just follow the yellow brick road (sorry, couldn't resist) to the last scene of this sequence.
the Truth:
This legend is a lie. The film used some large birds from the local zoo to add to the garden feel. In the scene in question, one of the birds (an Emu or a Crane) is standing tall at the back of the set, flapping its wings, and it is this image that has been confused for our jilted munchkin. At least it's true that something got into a flap!